I knew Alissa wasn't going to skate her best when I saw her face before going out on the ice, while Agnes was in the K&C. I'm glad she is still going to Worlds, but Ashley really deserved the win this time. I was worried they were going to 'hold up' Alissa so I'm glad they didn't.

I was also impressed with Caroline, too bad that Agnes had a mini-meltdown at the end of her performance. But wow, Caroline looked like a totally different skater!

It's sad that Mirai and Rachael had their worst finishes in awhile at the nationals, but people rise and fall on fortune's wheel.. in the past it was Ashley and Caroline in those positions and look where they are now. US Ladies is still so inconsistent.

All in all I'm pleased with the world team. If Mirai had skated well I would have wanted her to go but she's honestly not in worlds form right now. I think Ashley and Alissa COULD get the three spots back for the US for 2013.

Unfortunately, IN, NBC, and USFS are very firm about asserting their copyrights over their material, so Rachael's skates are removed from youtube almost as fast as they go up.

If you want to see them, you can subscribe to ice network where they will be up on demand for the next several years (programs back to 2006/2007 are still available to view, if you have a subscription).

Lol, no. There are plenty of other American ladies out there. I mentioned 4 in my post. Alyssa is turning 25 in the summer and has never had the jumps unfortunately. I am not the first to suggest that Rachael should retire and concentrate on her studies. I do not like Ashley's skating style but I did not suggest she retire now too. If she can continue to find success and medal under John Nicks' guidance good for her. Mirai is only 18 and out of the crop of ladies, my favorite. It is simply my opinion.

Lol honestly not really. She was 7th overall. Agnes Zawadski, Caroline Zhang, and Christina Gao are all really good. They just need to tweak some things. Agnes Z. is my pick for American OGM contender at 2014 Sochi. Gracie Gold and Courtney Hicks are really good too. And well, I think by now it is clear that MN has to fight her inner demons before she can think about beating anyone else.

i think gracie is the top contender for sochi. she has already had a growth spurt and if she doesn't have another one could have her already consistent 3+3's, a 3A which she is currently working on, and maybe a quad. that's huge for a lady.

mirai needs to find her love for the sport again and make a change, and in my opinion it is changing coaches. to who, i don't know. but i don't think her and frank aren't working well anymore. their personalities kind of clash. and to try a different choreographer.

i would like to see alissa stay till 2014. she's only been with yuka and jason for not even 2 years yet, and i think it would be too soon to cut her success short. i'm in support of her all the way and would be very heartbroken if she retired this year. she has a quality that no other skater in the world has right now IMO.

rachael has to choose between school and skating and she needs to make it now. it would be much easier for her to continue skating now and go back to school later than finish school and come back to skating (i took a year off and came back, it doesn't work too well, it's extremely hard). i would like to see her stay until 2014 also or at least one more season. although she has a lot to improve on, she has a lot more potential if she puts in the work. rooting for her!

ashley doesn't impress. it's great she worked hard to win nationals, but there's something i don't like about her skating. its like she tries too hard in her movements...not the jumps, but like arm movements and interpreting the choreography...like trying too hard with the facial expressions and being pretty. but i hope she has a couple good skates at worlds.

agnes doesn't impress me much either, besides her jumps. i love the height she gets on them and her spins are decent. the rest needs work. but i know it's only her second year as a senior.